3. Anxiety
Anxiety can affect your sleep in two ways. First, anxiety (and many anxiety disorders) can directly interfere with your sleep. And second, when you don’t sleep well, you may actually feel even more anxious the following day. Many people also feel worried and anxious about getting to sleep that night, creating a cycle of anxiety and sleep problems.
4. Stress
Just like anxiety, stress isn’t good for sleep. According to Dr. Sarah Silverman, holistic sleep expert and SleepFoundation.org contributor, stress can cause a physical response in your body that makes it hard to sleep.
Dr. Silverman explains that “increased stress can activate what’s called ‘hyperarousal.’” Your nervous system turns on, and it feels like the “classic ‘fight-or-flight’ response.” This can put your mind and body on “high alert” at bedtime, and make it hard to fall asleep quickly.